A Different Story
by Wickedly Frozen Evil Regal
Summary: What if Regina had found Zelena in her room in the Enchanted Forest instead of Rumpelstiltskin? How would it have changed their relationship?
1. Chapter 1

_**I have been working on this for a while now. I had rewatched the episode and the idea of Regina finding Zelena instead of Rumpelstiltskin just stuck with me. This is the result of that idea. I have about three chapters written and more planned.**_

As she rifled through her sister's belongings, Zelena felt herself growing more and more envious. She had struggled for her father's love and acceptance for so many years and here Regina had everything. She was queen and learning magic from the master of it all, the Dark One. Zelena decided to try to perform the same bit of magic she had seen Regina attempt before. She closed her eyes and concentrated briefly. Excitement filled her as she felt the object's weight appear in her hand.

"Who are you? How did you get in my room? How did you do that so easily?" a voice said from behind her.

Startled, she spun around. Her sister stood there, a mixture of curiosity and fear present on her face. "Regina!" she gasped.

Confusion spread across the young queen's face as she cocked her head to the side. "How do you know my name? You don't work here in the castle and I haven't been married long enough to visit many of the villages."

"I'm Zelena," she replied, choosing to answer the very first question.

"How do you know my name?" Regina repeated, impatience creeping into her voice.

"I saw you with magic. The Wizard told me your name." Zelena was being cryptic and she knew it but her seemingly simpleminded sister was too easy a target. So innocent and naive.

"The Wizard? Rumpelstiltskin?"

"No," she shook her head, ready to tell Regina what she had discovered and ruin her sister's fairy tale life. "I'm from Oz. The Wizard told me your name when he showed me my real family."

"Real family?"

"Yes." Zelena gave a vicious smirk. "We're sisters." she revealed. "Half-sisters, anyway. Our mother gave me up."

She was quite pleased with herself until she saw Regina's face pale. Then she felt a twinge of regret, but she ignored it.

"What?" Regina stumbled back in shock.

Leaping forward, Zelena caught her younger sister's arm. She gently guided the young queen to a chair and sat her down, shocked by her own actions. She had wanted to hurt Regina, why was she helping her?

"She gave me up because I wasn't born royalty." she explained what she had learned. "She wanted power and with me she couldn't achieve it."

"But with me she could," Regina murmured.

"Well you're the queen, so I guess she was right."

"She would be, if she was here."

"What?" Now it was Zelena's turn to be confused.

"She's gone. I pushed her through a portal."

"Why?" she had not seen that part.

"I couldn't live with her anymore." Regina stood back up. "I didn't want this life, I didn't want to be queen. I wanted love not power. I wanted Daniel."

"Who's Daniel?"

"My true love. The man I wanted to marry. The man I was going to run away with and marry before that brat told Mother."

"What happened"

"Mother ripped his heart out and crushed it." Regina whimpered. "She killed him in front of me and then forced me to marry the king. Rumpelstiltskin gave me a way to be free of her and I accepted."

"Wow." Zelena had come here already jealous of her sister and now she was unsure as to why. From the sound of things, they had both lived rough lives.

"If you're my sister, how did you end up in Oz? Where is that?"

"It's another realm. Our mother left me in a basket and a cyclone carried me to Oz." By this time the two of them had seated themselves on Regina's bed. "A couple found me and decided to keep me. Mother, my adoptive mother that is, loved me, I think, but Father apparently never did. He has always been a drunk and told me just a few days ago that I'm the reason he drinks. Me and my wickedness," he spat.

"Wickedness?" Regina questioned, confusion clouding her face.

"My magic," Zelena clarified. "He thinks the magic makes me wicked."

"Oh." Regina fell silent as until recently she had believed magic to be evil.

"Why was the king searching for a wife?" her sister asked. "Surely he had plenty of women to choose from. Why didn't he marry one of them?"

"Because of the brat," Regina spat. "His wife died so he needed a new mother for his precious Snow White. I made the mistake of saving her after her horse ran off with her."

"Start from the beginning," Zelena requested. Somehow, she was beginning to understand that her mother was a difficult person and had something to do with Regina's unhappiness, but she wanted to know more.

"Daniel and I were at our spot one day when we heard a girl screaming. I jumped on my horse and rescued her, Snow White," Regina recounted, without going into detail. "Later, Leopold, her father, showed up spouting some nonsense about searching for a new wife, someone to be a mother to _her._ Then he proposed. I was in shock and Mother accepted for me. I never even had the opportunity to refuse before it was decided."

Zelena reached over and caught her sister's hand before she even realized what she was doing.

"I ran to the stable to convince Daniel to run away and marry me. He agreed after I told him being queen meant nothing to me, that all I wanted was to marry my stable boy."

"Stable boy!" Zelena exclaimed, dropping Regina's hand. "You wanted to marry a stable boy!"

"I loved him!" Regina shot back.

"I thought you were at least talking about a Lord or someone with a title."

"Don't you see?" the queen pleaded. "Titles mean nothing to me. I wanted love."

"Love?" Zelena scoffed. "I wanted love as well. I wanted my father's love and I never received it. Love makes you weak. A good face is what's important."

"Not to me." Regina said softly as tears slid from her eyes. "I just wanted the man I loved."

Softening at the sight of her sister's tears and hating herself for it, Zelena sighed. "What happened next?"

"We decided to leave and as we kissed Snow White found us." a flicker of something Zelena could not identify flashed across Regina's face. "She ran away, upset, and I went after her. I convinced her that I loved Daniel not Leopold and made her promise not to tell anyone, especially not Mother."

"Let me guess," Zelena spat, her hatred beginning to transfer to a child she had never met. "She told her?"

Regina nodded. "Daniel and I were about to leave when Mother found us in the stable. She put on this big show, convinced us we were free to be together, then took Daniel aside and ripped his heart out. She crushed it and he died in front of me. She didn't even allow me to grieve, for I was to be queen."

"How did you find out the child told her?"

"The brat told me herself. She thought my wedding gown was for Daniel and that Mother agreed to let us marry. I told her Daniel had left me and the gown was for her father."

"You told her he left?" Zelena exclaimed in disbelief. "Why?"

"I wanted her to be content for now. When she is older, I will get my revenge. I want her to hurt the way I do but right now she is too young. She has the ability to bounce back. I want her to hurt for the rest of her life."

"I see. What is your plan?"

"I don't have one as of now." Regina replied softly, staring at her lap.

 _ **Let me know what you think. Chapter two will be up as soon as I get it typed.**_


	2. Chapter 2

_**More than a year later, here is chapter two. I have over 4 chapters written and hope to spend the rest of this summer working on this fic and others.**_

 **Chapter Two**

The sisters fell silent as each contemplated what they had learned about the other, shocked at how cruel their mother had been to the other. A sniffle from Regina alerted Zelena to the fact that her sister's tears were still falling. She turned to face the young queen. "When I first found out you were my sister, I was so excited."

"Really?" Regina asked softly.

"Yes. I always wanted a sibling and until I learned the truth, never understood why I didn't have one."

"You said when you first found out. What changed?"

"The Wizard told me I was given up because I couldn't give our mother the power and control that she could get with you. I came here jealous and angry to confront both of you. I didn't expect this." she waved a hand between them. "I didn't expect you to be so open and accepting, for you to have suffered so much at the hands of…Mother."

"She's a piece of work," Regina agreed as a knock sounded on the door.

"Regina?" the door creaked open and Henry peered around it. "Who are you speaking to, my dear?"

"Daddy, this is Zelena." She motioned him in. " Mother gave birth to her and sent her to Oz. Did you know about her?"

Shock crossed the older man's face but not as much as the two would have expected. They shared a look, at which he explained, "There were rumors that a peasant was to wed a prince but was found to be stealing from him and was banished from the grounds. It was also said that she was with child and the prince was not the father but no one could prove that for she was not seen after that night."

"Who was the prince, Daddy? Maybe he could help us."

Henry looked pained. "Regina, my dear…"

"Who was he?"

"It was Leopold, Regina."

"Leopold? As in…"

"Yes."

Face pale, Regina would have fallen off the bed had Zelena not caught her. The redheaded witch carefully slid an arm around her sister, allowing the queen to lean against her. "Who's Leopold?"

"King Leopold is Regina's husband."

Disgusted, Zelena spat. "Mother married her daughter off to the man she was going to marry years ago? That's sick."

"We don't know if Cora is the woman from the rumors or not."

"I think I'm proof that she is."

"Zelena?" the younger woman whispered. "I don't feel so good. I think I'd like to lie down now."

"Of course. Do you want to change first? You'll be more comfortable." Zelena was surprised at how easy it was to be Regina's big sister.

"I just want to lie down."

"Okay." Zelena closed her eyes and used a trick she had taught herself. As she reopened her eyes the green smoke was clearing, leaving Regina in a nightgown. She gave her sister a smile. "I want you comfortable."

Once Regina was settled in bed, Henry spoke up. "I'll have someone prepare a bed for you, Zelena."

"No, Daddy," Regina said quickly. "I want her in here. She can stay with me for the night."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes," she declared, then looked at her sister shyly. "That is, if you want to stay with me."

"I'd like that."

"Very well." Henry gave a nod. "Snow wishes to see you before she retires for the evening. That was my original purpose for coming in here. Shall I tell her to come in or that you are not feeling up to it tonight?" he asked his daughter.

"Umm…" Regina glanced at Zelena, whose face remained neutral. "She can come in, I guess," she sighed. "Otherwise, she will throw a fit."

"Alright." Henry opened the door. "Goodnight, my dear. Goodnight, Zelena."

Once he was gone, Zelena turned to her sister. "Would you like for me to stay out of sight when she comes in?"

"Only if you wish," Regina responded. "Leopold will find out about you tomorrow anyway so we don't need to keep you a secret."

The door opened before they could decide and the princess entered. "Regina? Your father said you're not feeling well. What's wrong?"

"I'll be alright dear," Regina replied soothingly. "I just need some sleep."

"Father wants to go riding soon. Do you think you could help me overcome my fear by then?" the girl asked hesitantly. "I want him to be proud of me. I want you to be proud of me."

"Snow, your father will be proud of you whether you can ride without fear or not," Regina assured the girl, noticing a look cross Zelena's face. She watched her sister in concern as she continued. "Yes, I will help you. We'll start tomorrow."

"Oh, thank you, Regina!" the ecstatic child bounded over to the bed, catching sight of the third person for the first time. She froze. "Regina? Who's that?"

"This is Zelena," the queen replied. "Zelena, this is my stepdaughter, Snow White."

Forcing a smile, Zelena bowed her head. "It's nice to meet you, Snow White."

"You're supposed to curtsey," Snow declared. "And it's Princess Snow White."

"Snow White!" Regina admonished. "Zelena is not from around here. She doesn't know the proper way to react around royalty."

"I'm sorry," the princess murmured. "I'll do better. I promise."

"You're forgiven," Regina replied. "Now, it is time for you to go to bed."

"Yes, ma'am." The girl gave her stepmother a gentle kiss on the cheek. "Goodnight, Regina. Goodnight, Zelena."

"Goodnight, Snow."

"Goodnight, Princess." Zelena watched her leave before turning to her sister. "You don't hate her."

"What? Yes I do," Regina argued. "That was an act."

"I've been forced to 'put on a good face' for years. I can spot an act and that, my dear sister, was not one. You don't hate that girl, at least not when she's around," the redhead explained. "You can fool yourself and others when she's not with you. I think you want to hate her but can't help but love her."

"I'm tired and wish to sleep." Regina ended the discussion.

"Very well but we will be discussing this again tomorrow." Zelena walked toward the sofa to lie down.

"Where are you going?" the queen asked.

"To bed."

Regina folded the bedding back. "There's room for you here."

"Are you sure?" Zelena slowly made her way back to the bed.

"Yes."

A few minutes later, the two were lying stiffly next to each other. They were unsure about how to proceed. With a sigh, Regina clasped her sister's hand. "I'm glad you're here, Zelena."

"Me, too, Regina," the redhead murmured, giving the queen's fingers a gentle squeeze. A smile crossed her face. "Me too."


End file.
